In a renewed push towards building a strong artificial intelligence ecosystem, the Government of India is accelerating its plan to set up 50 AI curation units across various ministries and departments. The initiative aims to unlock the potential of non-personal public data and make it more useful for AI-driven innovation.
According to officials, around 30 units are already in place, while the remaining 20 are expected to be set up in the coming months. These units will play a key role in identifying, filtering, and organising valuable datasets, which will then be integrated into the IndiaAI Datasets Platform, also known as AIKosh.
The goal is to bring together scattered and often underutilised data from different sectors. This includes information related to health, agriculture, logistics, demographics, environment, and geospatial mapping. By organising this data in a structured manner, the government aims to make it easier for researchers, startups, and developers to build meaningful AI applications.
Officials highlighted that one of the biggest challenges has been dealing with fragmented data spread across departments. “Finding and filtering this data and making it usable for AI modelling has been a key objective,” a senior official from the Ministry of Electronics and IT noted.
Although the initiative began nearly two years ago, progress was initially slow due to hesitation from some ministries that already had their own data systems in place. However, the current push reflects a stronger commitment to collaboration and data sharing across departments.
The move is seen as an important step in strengthening India’s AI ecosystem. By making high-quality datasets available in a more accessible format, the government hopes to encourage innovation, improve decision-making, and support the development of AI-based solutions for governance and public services.
Overall, the expansion of AI curation units signals a shift towards a more data-driven approach, where government-held information can be transformed into actionable insights for the country’s digital future.